Tainted Love
by hyacinthian
Summary: Carter, Lucy, Abby, and a...love triangle? Very curious. [Carcy]


"Carter!" yelled a voice at the other end of the cramped hallway.  
  
"What?!" he yelled back.  
  
"Remember, 8:00! Sharp!" yelled Abby.  
  
He groaned and mumbled something and walked off. He walked into Exam Room 6. It was Valentine's Day and like every other couple, they were going out to eat a romantic dinner. He walked into the room and reminisced. It had been exactly one year since the incident and he had gotten over it, or so he told everyone.  
  
"Lucy," he whispered, softly.  
  
"I thought you said you got over it," replied Abby, from behind him.  
  
"It's a memory. Ok? Things get burned in your brain and I will never forget that day. Valentine's Day may be a holiday for some people, may be a nightmare for others, but it's a memory for me."  
  
She sighed and looked him straight in the eye. "Carter, you'll get over it. You already have. At least, a portion of you has. Look, just forget about her."  
  
"How can I?!" he yelled at her. "She was my med student! She died because I didn't listen to her. She wanted a psych consult and I told her he was fine. Look what I did. I killed her."  
  
Abby sighed in disgust and walked off. She ran out to the hallway. Carter could hear someone's heels clacking against the floor and then a clipboard dropping. He went out to see what was going on when he saw it. Her. Lucy. Standing there, in her same white lab coat, and same blonde hair.  
  
"Hey there, Carter. Kerry," she greeted.  
  
"How can it? But you." stuttered Kerry. She was beyond words. She had found Lucy and Carter, stabbed and now here she was, back from the dead. Elizabeth walked in and dropped her clipboard.  
  
"You.You.You died," she whispered.  
  
"I know I did," replied Lucy, cheerfully. She giggled softly as everyone she used to know came in and just stared at her in a state of shock. "Okay. I need to really fill you people in. Carter."  
  
He walked over to her and enveloped her in a giant hug. No one else came closer though. He was on the verge of tears.  
  
"Now, explain. Are you Lucy?" he asked.  
  
"Okay. I'm Lucy Knight. Your med-student."  
  
"But she.you died," reasoned Elizabeth. "I was there."  
  
"No. See, I have family in Boston, remember? Family almost none of you know about. I was up there with my identical twin.my sister.and my mother. Jessica, that's her name, and I decided to fool you people. So, she went back down to Chicago as me and I stayed up in Boston for a couple of extra days. She knew some things about being a doctor, she dropped out of med school, but that's not the point. She got stabbed. Not me."  
  
"So, you mean." started Kerry.  
  
"Yeah. Paul killed my sister. I came back down here a few days later and I got another lab coat after I discovered that I was dead," she laughed. "But, I miss my sister very much, but I decided that I missed you all more than ever so I came back."  
  
"I'm so happy to see you!" cried Elizabeth, and the rest of the hospital staff, pulling her into a deep group hug.  
  
She laughed lightly and went around. There were new faces, definitely, but there was Carter, someone she definitely knew. She walked down the hallway when she stopped by exam room 6.  
  
"By the way, dudes, I'm a doctor now. See, it's Doctor Lucy Knight," she laughed at her vocabulary. "Carter, you remember that day? You got a little cut," she joked, laughing.  
  
Abby was watching them. Lucy was back and it was having a definite effect on Carter. He had told her about Exam Room 6 and how he liked her, but it couldn't be possible.  
  
"Now, it's possible," she mumbled. "Dammit. She had to come back. Had to ruin everything for us. I could've been engaged."  
  
"You're a doctor?!" cried Carter, happily. "Wow. So, I mean, well, what's in the past is in the past."  
  
"Yeah. I can see you're happy to see me," she remarked, half- jokingly.  
  
"What do you say to lunch?" he offered.  
  
"Sure," she replied, instantaneously. "What am I doing? Do I still like him after all these years? Well, it's only been one, but still." she thought to herself.  
  
"Cool. When does your shift end? Wait, you haven't.yeah.um.my shift ends in ten minutes so I'll take you then, ok?"  
  
"CARTER!" whined Abby. "You're taking her out to lunch?" she stated, through gritted teeth.  
  
"It's a friendly luncheon," he countered. "Why is Abby acting like Roxanne? She was so nice in the beginning." he thought.  
  
"Yeah, sure. But you tell her that I'm your girlfriend and that she can't have you, got it?" she commanded.  
  
"Yeah, sure," he mumbled.  
  
"Guys? Got a Trauma coming in. You might wanna clear the hallway?" suggested Carol, smiling lightly. "I'm so glad that Lucy's back. Maybe she can take care of Abby. Or at least make Carter happier," she thought.  
  
Carter got working on a patient while Lucy talked to Kerry about working there again. It would be awkward for a few weeks, true, but they'd love to have her back. Lucy had already purchased an apartment near the hospital.  
  
"We'd love to have you back, Lucy," smiled Kerry.  
  
Lucy smiled and gave Kerry a quick thank you and sat in the Lounge. They happily placed her name back onto a locker, next to Carter's locker coincidentally, and she grabbed a jacket and she ran upstairs.  
  
"Where's Lucy?" Carter asked Kerry. "We have a lunch date right about now. Wait! She's on the roof, isn't she?"  
  
Kerry nodded but Carter had already bolted up the stairs. "He runs fast," thought Kerry, smiling to herself.  
  
Carter was up on the roof. Lucy was standing near the edge. Her blonde hair fluttering in the wind.  
  
"Surprise," he remarked. She turned around suddenly and accidentally, their lips brushed against each others.  
  
"I'm sorry," they apologized to each other.  
  
"You ready for lunch?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah. Your car's downstairs, right?"  
  
"Yeah. It sure as hell wouldn't be up on the roof," he laughed. She giggled and they went back inside and they headed towards a nearby restaurant.  
  
"What would you like?" asked the waitress.  
  
"I would like the spaghetti with meatballs, please," answered Carter, folding his menu and giving it back to the waitress.  
  
"I would like the lasagna, please," Lucy remarked, handing her the menu. "You know, Abby's changed."  
  
"Yeah. She's been a bit. I don't know. Different, I guess."  
  
The food arrived soon and the chatter about Abby stopped, though they still chatted about the hospital staff.  
  
"I miss some people. I'm glad you and Carol and Kerry and other people that I know are there," she stated, laughing. She took another bite of her lasagna and a sip of champagne. "That way, I won't get so lost."  
  
"Yeah. I forgot to ask you before, but, you know, now that we have the time, what did Kerry say? Can you work there?" he asked, anxiously, taking in another mouthful of spaghetti.  
  
"Yeah. She said a few bumps in the road might be imminent but other than that, it should be alright."  
  
"That's great! You know, Lucy, I've missed you," admitted Carter, sipping his champagne.  
  
"Are you full?" she asked, curiously.  
  
"Not really. Let's order dessert."  
  
"Dessert? Now?" she asked, surprised.  
  
"Yeah. Why not? You up for chocolate cheesecake?" he suggested.  
  
"I don't know. I thought it would just be lunch, you know?" she asked, unsure.  
  
"Come on Lucy. I'll order one slice with two forks. If you want some, you can eat some. If you don't, I can have it all to myself," he added.  
  
"Sure. Why not? But remember, Santa doesn't give stuff to selfish people," she warned, laughing.  
  
"Excuse me, sir. What do you recommend for dessert?" asked Carter.  
  
"I think that the Chocolate Raspberry Crème Torte might be nice," replied the waiter quickly.  
  
"I'll have some of that."  
  
The waiter wrote something on a small notepad quickly and he quickly scurried off. Carter swirled his spaghetti around his plate with his fork.  
  
"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with your food?" joked Lucy.  
  
"Yes. But then, she told me to go to a cotillion. So, I don't think that rule applies right now," he replied, smiling.  
  
"You? At a cotillion?" Lucy asked, in disbelief. She tried so hard but she ended up bursting into a fit of laughter.  
  
"Gee. Thanks."  
  
The waiter handed them a plate with a slice of some Chocolate Raspberry Crème Torte and handed them each a fork. They dug in quickly.  
  
"That isn't too bad," remarked Carter, in between bites.  
  
"Yeah. No one can tell that you like it considering you're eating like a pig," replied Lucy, setting down her fork.  
  
He laughed and he paid the check and they left toward the hospital. His arm was around her and they looked like a normal Valentine's Day couple. As soon as they entered the hospital though, it was sheer chaos.  
  
"Trauma One. Coming in. Lucy, want to scrub in?" offered Carol.  
  
"Sure. What do we got here, boys?" she said.  
  
"Lucy. How nice. I'll be assisting you on the trauma," Carter mentioned, semi-casually. "Anyway, dudes, what do we got?"  
  
"Oh yeah. James Alcatraz, twenty-seven years old, MVA. Got thrown 20 feet from the car. Pulse is thready. BP's 120/80. Head trauma. Wasn't wearing his seat belt."  
  
"Kids these days," remarked Carter, clucking his tongue. "Anyway, Dr. Knight, what are your comments on this situation?"  
  
"Give him 20 cc's of saline to start, he needs to be hydrated, get a CBC too. Let's intubate him, he's not breathing," she ordered, placing her ear near his mouth to hear his breathing.  
  
"Give him 3 milligrams of morphine. He'll need it. And page Dr. Benton from cardio. Chuny! Now!" he added. Chuny ran off down the hall.  
  
"Okay. Saline's helping."  
  
"A bit, but not much. You'll have to give him some more. Give him 4 units of O-Neg," countered Carter, calmly.  
  
"He's v-taking. What're you going to do?" commented a nurse.  
  
"Carter, start compressions. Bring out the v-fib."  
  
"1.2.3.4.5."  
  
"Charge to 250. CLEAR!" the paddles shocked the man's heart, but nothing changed. "Charge to 300. CLEAR!" She shocked him again, but nothing happened. "Charge to 350. CLEAR!"  
  
"Lucy, give up. This man's long-gone," remarked Carter, softly.  
  
"Ugh, fine. You're right. Asystole. Time of death", she paused to glance at her watch. "3:45."  
  
"I'm here! What's the matter?" asked Peter, out-of-breath.  
  
"The matter is you're late. He's gone," stated Carter.  
  
"Wonderful. Anspaugh's upstairs wondering why I ran out of his cardiothoracic lecture during the middle of a surgery and the patient's dead. Gee, thanks, Carter."  
  
"Not my fault you don't know how to get here on time."  
  
"CARTER!" shouted Abby.  
  
"So, she calls. Well, call me again sometime, Carter. I mean, you know, so I can repay you for lunch today," Lucy replied quickly. She pulled a notepad and ripped out a piece of paper and scribbled her number on it quickly. "In case you need someone to talk."  
  
"Hey! What do you know? You live across the hall from me," he remarked. "Your apartment, I mean, it's across the hall from mine."  
  
"Well, then, come over for some videos or something sometime," smiled Lucy.  
  
"God, she has a great smile," he thought. "Well, maybe I will," he answered with a smug smile.  
  
"Well, maybe I will? What's with that?" Abby inquired, angrily.  
  
"Just because I'm your boyfriend doesn't mean that I'm not free to have some chats with a friend. That's all Lucy is, you know, a friend," he explained.  
  
"I'm sure. Whatever," she scoffed, walking off.  
  
"How do you put up with her? She used to be so nice," muttered Carol, filling out a form. "She's so mean now."  
  
"I'm going up to the roof. Don't tell Abby," he confided to Carol. She nodded quickly and he took off toward the stairs.  
  
"Hey, Carol. Don't tell Kerry, but I'm taking my break a bit early. I'm going up to the roof. Can you keep that a secret?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, sure."  
  
She undid her ponytail and kept the hair band on her wrist. She ran up the stairs and her blonde hair bobbed up and down as she leaped from stair to stair.  
  
"Carter. Hey," she muttered softly.  
  
"Lucy? What are you doing up here?" he replied, turning around.  
  
"Nothing. Just needed some air, I guess."  
  
"Oh. Well, I guess I'll head back inside soon."  
  
As he turned and walked past her, she pressed her lips against his quickly. She pulled away quickly and started to run.  
  
"I'm so sorry," she muttered quickly.  
  
"It's okay. I liked it. I missed what happened in Exam 6," he replied, smiling.  
  
She smiled back and headed back inside. The nurses were standing there, looking at her. Her eyes drifted from one nurse to the next, all with the same smug smile.  
  
"Did Carol tell you?" she asked.  
  
"No. We came up here because you always come up here when you've had a hard day. What we didn't expect to see was you kissing Carter," admitted Chuny. "Don't worry. It won't be spread like hospital gossip, yet."  
  
"That's very comforting," Lucy stated, the sarcasm dripping off each and every word.  
  
"I know. I try," stated Chuny, mockingly bowing.  
  
"All right. People! Get back to work!" ordered Kerry. "Lucy, isn't your shift over?"  
  
"Yeah. So?" she answered.  
  
"So you should maybe think about leaving. CARTER!" she called, opening the door a bit.  
  
"Yeah, Kerry?" he asked, coming inside.  
  
"BACK TO WORK!" she ordered.  
  
"My shift's over."  
  
"Well, then, join Lucy here and go leave the hospital."  
  
"Why don't you come over for some dinner, Carter?" she offered, her hand extended.  
  
Just then, Abby leaped up the stairs to see Carter and Lucy and Kerry. She became outraged. Was Lucy going to try to steal Carter away from her?  
  
"Dinner? Sure," answered Carter with a grin.  
  
"We were going to have dinner," whined Abby, pushing Lucy off to the side.  
  
Lucy, whom was standing at the top of the stairs, fell and rolled down the stairs. Carter and Kerry ran down the stairs to see her. She was bleeding a little and she was unconscious.  
  
"Elizabeth! Care to scrub in?" Kerry asked, yelling.  
  
They moved Lucy to a gurney but Kerry wouldn't allow Carter to scrub in. That left Carter alone to talk with Abby. He sat on the bench and held his head in his hands. This headache was not going to get any better.  
  
"You accepted her dinner offer?! How could you?!" Abby cried, obviously distraught.  
  
"It's dinner, Abs! It's not like it's something special. I haven't seen her in over a year and you're whining about me having dinner with her. You pushed her down the stairs, Abby!" he countered, fiercely, gritting his teeth.  
  
"Whatever. That's all you ever talk about Carter. Forget about me. Forget about everything we ever had," she complained.  
  
"Gladly," he answered. "You've done nothing but complain of my activities ever since we got together. Did you know that? 'Carter, why are you doing this?' and 'Carter, why are you doing that?'. Well, Abby, I'm sick of it. Don't contradict my actions!"  
  
She opened her mouth to say something but he had already gotten up and ran off to sit in the Lounge. She followed him into the Lounge.  
  
"Carter, what are you doing? You know I love you," she said, apologetically.  
  
"Really? You're just so different. When we got together in the first place, you were hardly ever like this. You were nice and caring. Now, whenever Carol offers me coffee, you act like I'm having an affair with her. Carol's married Abby! Ok? She's got Doug."  
  
"Yeah, well, people change," she scoffed. "I don't know why I ever wasted my time talking to you. It's not like you can tear your thoughts away from Lucy for one second."  
  
She angrily tossed her necklace on the floor and stamped her feet as she walked out the door. Carter chuckled to himself. He picked up the locket she had carelessly thrown on the floor. It had his picture and her picture and the words I love you written in fancy writing across the front of the locket. He removed her picture and crumpled it up and tossed it in the trash.  
  
"Carter?" asked Kerry, unsure.  
  
"Yeah? What's up?" he answered.  
  
"We didn't need to do any surgery. She just had a concussion."  
  
"Oh, that's good."  
  
"You want to go up to see her?" she offered.  
  
"Sure?"  
  
"Yeah. Go on up."  
  
Carter closed the door and he walked up the stairs. He got to her room and knocked on the door lightly.  
  
"Come in," he heard someone rasp out.  
  
"Hey, Lucy. I just came to visit you," he greeted.  
  
"Hey. Can you hand me that water over there," she whispered. He handed the glass of water to her and she gulped it down quickly. "Now my throat feels better."  
  
"So when are they going to release you?" he asked.  
  
"I don't know. She said this afternoon. I don't know. You still want to come over for dinner?" she offered. "I heard that little argument with Abby and you. I'm sorry."  
  
"It's okay. It was DOA, anyway," he replied. They laughed at his joke. "I wouldn't want to impose or anything."  
  
"It's okay. I could stand the company."  
  
"Lucy. How are you feeling?" asked Dr. Greene, walking in.  
  
"I've been through this with my patients, Dr. Greene. I'm fine. I don't need to get anything checked, my breathing's fine, and last I read the monitor, my BP is normal. Good enough for you?" she commented, exasperatedly.  
  
"I see your familiar with hospital protocol. Well, if your done that I give you permission to be released," he laughed. "Yeah. I'm sure you're fine, Lucy."  
  
He left the room and Lucy got up. She waved her fingers gesticulating for him to turn around while she dressed.  
  
"You done yet?" he asked, every five seconds.  
  
"Done," she muttered. "You know, you remind me of my five-year-old second cousin. He wakes up weeks before I do and every time I tell him to turn around so I can dress, he's very impatient."  
  
She grabbed her purse and she walked out with Carter, holding each other's hands. They walked down a flight of stairs, thinking the elevator might take too long, and they got into his car.  
  
"How'd you get here if you don't have a car?" he asked, curiously.  
  
"I took a cab."  
  
"Oh."  
  
He waited for her to get in and he started the car. He shifted into drive and he drove off into normal Chicago traffic. He drove for a few minutes before turning left. He parked on the street and he walked into the apartment building across the street.  
  
"So, you live here, huh?" Lucy asked. "What a dumb question to ask! Of course he lives here! Why do you have to be so nervous around him?!" she thought, scolding herself.  
  
"What are you thinking?" he asked, suddenly.  
  
"What?" she replied, dazed.  
  
"You just have that faraway look in your eyes, like your daydreaming. Well, I wouldn't daydream on the stairs like that. I wouldn't want you to risk having another concussion and another run-in with the hospital nurses. Gossip travels fast."  
  
"I know."  
  
"Well, here we are. Here's my apartment. Room 137, and here's yours. Room 136. Well, do you have your key with you?" he asked.  
  
"Uh.I think I left it in the apartment."  
  
"Great. Just let me ring up the janitor," he started.  
  
"No. I have a bobby pin. Hang on a second."  
  
She unclipped the bobby pin from her hair and she placed it in the lock. She turned it and contorted it a few ways before she heard the sound of the lock clicking.  
  
"Why am I not surprised you know how to do this?" asked Carter, with a sly look.  
  
"Well, I learned it when I was 13 after I locked myself out of my room seventy times," she exaggerated. "I'm sorry I don't have dinner prepared yet."  
  
She opened the big, white door to reveal a spacious apartment. There were packing boxes scattered throughout the room, but the room had an organized glow to it. There was a little mew from behind the boxes and a tiny black kitten with white paws and white-tipped ears came out and purred.  
  
"Hey, Midnight. C'mon. I'll get you some milk," she cooed.  
  
"You have a cat?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, why? You're not allergic, are you? Because I can't think of life without cats. I've always had one in my house sometime or another."  
  
"No, I'm just-surprised."  
  
"Oh. Well, what do you want? Frozen TV Dinner or homemade spaghetti?" she asked, opening the refrigerator door.  
  
"You need to ask?  
  
"I'm guessing the spaghetti. But of course, that's just a wild guess," she replied, grinning.  
  
"Want me to pour some milk for your kitty?" he asked. She burst out laughing so hard that she had to hold herself up by clutching the counter. "What?"  
  
"You're just not the type I'd imagined to use the word 'kitty'. Well, sure. Her name's 'Midnight'. My pride and joy. Partner in Crime. She likes you, I'm guessing. Otherwise, she wouldn't circle you like that," explained Lucy.  
  
"Yeah. Was your cat a vulture in another life 'cause I swear it's lookin' at me like it wants to eat me or something," he replied.  
  
Lucy replied that with a laugh. She smiled to her kitty and got out a little saucer and placed it on the floor. She got out a plastic bowl and filled it up with some cat food. She took a little morsel of the cat food, placed it in her mouth, and ate it.  
  
"Geez, do you eat cat food on a daily basis?" he asked, shocked.  
  
"No. I just think it tastes good. Tuna fish is good."  
  
"Well, then, buy canned tuna. Don't go eating the poor cat's meal."  
  
Lucy answered that with a laugh and kissed him softly. "Well, the cat gets food and plus, if I'm eating tuna-flavored cat food, it's not necessarily tuna, so it's better for the tuna fish swimming out in the ocean."  
  
"You need a shrink, Luce."  
  
"Luce? Since when do you call me Luce?" she asked, dazed. "Alright. Maybe this'll shut you up," she said, kissing him again.  
  
"Wow. Okay. Better make dinner."  
  
"Yeah. Alright. Go watch TV."  
  
"Okay."  
  
She placed noodles into the boiling water and watched as they shrunk and softened. She watched as the noodles churned in the bubbling water and she added salt and seasonings. She waited until it was al dente, which is the way she usually ate it.  
  
"I feel like I should be cackling. Standing over a boiling pot," she muttered to herself.  
  
"You're not exactly a witch, are you?" asked Carter, placing his arms around her.  
  
"Last time I checked, no."  
  
"Well then, you have nothing to worry about."  
  
She laughed and turned off the stove. She dumped the contents of the pot into a colander perched in-between the two sides of the sink. The steam rose up and she shook the colander. She poured the noodles onto a plate and added some Prego pasta sauce.  
  
"Voila!" she cried.  
  
She got out two plates from the cabinet and she got some forks out and she told Carter to "help himself". She tied her hair back simply and got two glasses and poured them with some sparkling apple juice.  
  
"Apple juice?" he asked, looking at her.  
  
"Hey! I'm not one of those people who like to drink. I'd rather drink apple juice. Hey, if you don't want that, you could always have water."  
  
"I wasn't complaining, I was just taken aback."  
  
She cast him a glance that meant, "Yeah, I believe you." She sat down and ate her food quietly. The chatter had ceased.  
  
"I have a question for you, Lucy," Carter said, abruptly.  
  
"Shoot."  
  
"I would like for you to be my girlfriend."  
  
She was silent. She ate her spaghetti quietly when Midnight broke the silence. Midnight mewed softly and leaped up onto Lucy's dining room table.  
  
"Midnight!" she scolded. Lucy stroked the cat and scratched behind its ears and the cat purred contentedly. "Now. As for the answer to your question, Carter, I don't know. I guess?"  
  
"Was that a yes?" he asked, confused.  
  
"Yes. That was a yes."  
  
He smiled and ate. He reached into his pocket and removed the silver locket with the words 'I love you' scrawled neatly across the front. He handed it to her. As she opened it, she saw a picture of her on one side and a picture of him on the other. She undid the clasp and she placed it around her neck and clasped it again.  
  
"It looks beautiful on you," he praised.  
  
"Thank you," she said, proudly.  
  
Afterwards, she asked him to dance with her on her spacious (but not for long) hardwood floor. She played some classical music.  
  
"Wow, that cotillion really came in handy," she murmured to herself.  
  
"Thanks. I think I ought to be going."  
  
"I'll walk you back to your apartment," she stated, quickly.  
  
"Wow! Across the hall! For me?!" he mocked, sarcastically.  
  
She playfully smacked his arm and walked him back to his apartment, barefoot, and after the kiss good-night, she realized she had left her key inside (and she had locked the apartment) and that she didn't have any bobby pins in her hair. She knocked on his door. He answered the door barefoot.  
  
"Lucy. Didn't I see you three minutes ago?" he inquired, grinning.  
  
"Yeah. Do you have a paper clip?" she asked, glancing around the room.  
  
"Yeah. Around here somewhere. Why? You lock yourself out of your apartment again?" he taunted, laughing.  
  
"FYI, yes."  
  
"Here."  
  
He handed her a paper clip and she proudly snatched it away from his hand and unbent it so that it was a straight piece of metal (well, as straight as it could be). She placed it in the lock and carefully proportioned it to make the lock unlock.  
  
She opened the door and locked it from the inside. She tossed the paper clip onto a table and (using a knife) opened some of her packing boxes. She unpacked five boxes that night. She showered then, unpacked one final box, and fell asleep on the sofa, Midnight resting comfortably atop her blonde head.  
  
The pager started beeping and soon, Lucy was awake. As soon as she stirred, Midnight leaped off her head and Lucy grabbed her pager with an annoyed glance and pressed the button. She grabbed her cell phone and dialed the number listed.  
  
"Hello?!" she yelled, angrily.  
  
"Lucy? Hi. It's Abby. I need you at the ER soon. Carter needs to speak with you then. Right? Okay. Yeah, fifteen minutes? Okay. See you then," replied Abby, clicking the phone off. "All things are going according to plan. She'll be dead and buried, and of course, Carter will be mine again."  
  
Lucy got up and quickly showered, changed, and brushed her hair. She grabbed her jacket as she struggled to get into her shoes. When she did, she grabbed her purse and keys, locked the door, and deactivated the car alarm.  
  
The car alarm chirped and she opened the door to her Jeep Grand Cherokee and she threw her purse on the passenger seat and she placed the key in the ignition and started the car. She revved the engine and floored the gas pedal. The tires screeched against the asphalt but she drove off toward the hospital again. She finally arrived at the hospital and she parallel parked near the hospital and walked through the automatic doors that led to the ER.  
  
"Lucy!" cried Abby.  
  
"Abby! What's the matter? Where is he?" Lucy asked.  
  
"Oh, um, I think he's in Trauma One. With Mark. I'll go tell him you're on the roof as soon as he's out, ok?" she offered.  
  
"Yeah. I'll go up to the roof, then. Thanks, Abby!" she gratifyingly yelled.  
  
She ran up the stairs leading up to the roof. Abby walked into Exam Room 4 where Carter was caring for a patient.  
  
"Carter!" Abby cried.  
  
"Yeah, Abby?" he replied, without looking up.  
  
"Lucy wants you to meet her on the roof. She wants to talk to you about something," she informed, scornfully.  
  
His face brightened and he looked up at her. "Mr. Jones, you are done. Pick up your prescription soon. I will see you next week! Thanks Abby."  
  
He ran up the stairs to see her. He was running so fast that his stethoscope almost flew off his shoulders. He grabbed it though, and held it tight in his hand as he continued racing up the steps. When he reached the roof, he saw her, standing there, her hair blowing about in the wind.  
  
"Hey," he whispered.  
  
"Hey," she replied. "What's up? Save anybody's life today?"  
  
"I think I did. Someone got better."  
  
"Really?" she asked, with a tinge of sarcasm.  
  
"Uh-huh. So, Abby said you wanted to see me."  
  
"Abby said you wanted to see me."  
  
"Okay, well it's obvious she's lying then."  
  
"No crap," she replied, icily.  
  
"Well, I guess now's the time as ever. I would like you to know I love you and that I appreciate you very much," he started, before she interrupted.  
  
"Why? Are you breaking up with me?" she replied, coolly.  
  
"No. Actually I'm not," he countered, pulling something out of his pocket. "I was going to ask you to marry me."  
  
"Oh," she muttered softly. "Are you going to ask me or have you changed your mind?"  
  
"Well, I would like to know your answer."  
  
"Yes, I guess."  
  
"Well then", he started, pausing to slip the ring on her finger. "Congratulations. You got the question right."  
  
She laughed as he kissed her cheek. "Well, you know, I'm lucky I did."  
  
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. "Oh, I'm sorry, Luce. That's my pager. I have a trauma, I think. I'll see you in a little bit."  
  
Abby's thoughts were surrounded with spite. "He proposed to her?! How could he? Now they're engaged, how nice. She's not right for him!" she thought to herself.  
  
Abby walked off onto the roof. Lucy was toying with the chain of the locket he had given her. She was happy, there was no doubt about that. Her cheeks were flushed red from the cold. She tapped Lucy on the shoulder. As Lucy turned around, Abby kicked her and she flew backwards and hit the wall. Abby laughed.  
  
"Abby, why are you-" Lucy started, but she stopped.  
  
Abby had wrapped her fingers around Lucy's throat and was trying to strangle her. She was pressing so hard and Lucy was wriggling and trying to free herself from Abby's grasp. Abby, however, had a breakthrough.  
  
"Lucy, you know, I worked hard to be who Carter wanted me to be. I tried hard to be the nice person and help those ill people. I was helping him get over you. Then, one day, you came back. Your death had torn him apart so much, you know that? When you came back, it's like all of his emotional baggage was lifted. Then, you had a lunch. A dinner. A date. Now, what do you have on your finger? A ring. A diamond ring. A diamond ring that I tried so hard to work for. But now it's on your finger. You shouldn't die with my prints on you. I'd never be allowed back in here and Carter would never forgive me. If I think of a more creative way to kill you, I could still be with him. You will die at someone else's hands again," she explained.  
  
Abby released Lucy's throat and Lucy started gasping air. She gasped enough air to mutter a message to Abby. "Carter loves me. He'll never let you get away with this."  
  
"Oh. How sweet. But, Lucy, dear, I think I already have."  
  
Abby's hands went around Lucy's neck again and she lifted Lucy up a few inches off the ground. With her free hand, she pulled the locket off of Lucy's neck by pulling hard. She didn't even unclasp it. When she had stolen away the locket, she released Lucy. Since they were located so close to the edge, Abby gave pushed Lucy hard. Lucy yelped as she felt herself go over the side.  
  
"My work here is done. Good-bye, Dr. Knight," she stated, cackling cruelly.  
  
Unbeknownst to Abby, Lucy's fingers had slyly clutched onto the side of the hospital roof. That gave her a few minute's time to figure out how to get back up on solid ground. However, the longer she dangled, the weaker her arms would become. She tried to inch forward a bit back onto the hospital roof, but when she inched forward, her body weight made it so she lurched back and when she lurched back, she cut her fingers on the gravel on the hospital roof. Her futile attempts soon wore out her fingers and her arms were weakening. She tried a weak scream.  
  
"HELP!" she yelled. "HELP! SOMEONE!"  
  
There was no response to her cry. Her one arm fell to her side, completely numb. She tried to move it but it hurt too much. Her other arm was about to repeat what the first one did. She tried yelling again but her throat was too sore. She heard footsteps.  
  
"Lucy?" asked a very confused Dr. Carter.  
  
"HELP!" she yelped, softly.  
  
He heard her voice and he looked around. He saw her hands latched onto the hospital roof. He grasped her hand and he slowly pulled her back up to the hospital roof. She was hysterical. She was crying non-stop. She hugged him and he held her.  
  
"Let's get you back downstairs to get those cuts checked out," he ordered gently, worried. "Who did this to you?"  
  
He gingerly touched the red hand marks left from the attempted strangulation. She touched them too and grimaced at the pain.  
  
"I'm sorry. C'mon. We'll get Abby to check them out."  
  
"Abby? No! She did this to me," whimpered Lucy.  
  
"Okay. We'll get Carol to check them out. C'mon. Lean on me for some support."  
  
She did so and he helped her downstairs to the main portion of the ER. He finally found Carol and she helped Lucy with her neck and fingers.  
  
"Who did this to you?" she asked, curiously.  
  
"Abby," Lucy managed to rasp out.  
  
"Well, you should report this to Mark or Kerry. You know, they'd help. They wouldn't let anything happen to you. I don't believe I'm saying this, but I think you should report it to Romano, too," she replied, worried.  
  
"I'm fine. It's the fact that Abby tried to murder me that scares me."  
  
"Well, report it to Romano and she'll be suspended if not expelled completely," revealed Carol, with a grin. "Well, you're fine for now. I hope you get better, Luce. Hey! Who gave you the ring? Who're you engaged to?!"  
  
Lucy sheepishly blushed and her eyes wandered off to Carter, who was sitting next to her. Carol got the hint and she smiled.  
  
"Well, if you won't tell Romano, I will."  
  
"Alright. Well, I'm going to report her now."  
  
Just then, Abby burst through the door. "Carter! Oh, it was the most horrible thing!" she dramatically acted, pretending to be hurt. "You! What are you doing here?!"  
  
"Why, Abby, we saved Lucy just in the nick of time. She was dangling on the hospital roof. Do you know what happened?" Carol asked, sarcastically.  
  
Abby gave a self-proclaimed scoff and walked out of the room. Carol burst into laughter and told Lucy she would be fine.  
  
"Dr. Romano!" cried Lucy.  
  
"Ah, yes. Lucy. How goes it?" he asked.  
  
"Well, I've come to report something to you."  
  
"Ah, well, go ahead," he replied, quickly. " I have work to do too, you know."  
  
"Abby tried to kill me. I have 2 witnesses."  
  
"Abby?! Well, then, I know you would never lie. We should expel her, permanently."  
  
Lucy sighed in relief. Romano walked off to see Abby, who was doing an examination in Exam 4. He interrupted her while she was asking a question, and though she looked slightly flushed, in reality, she was quite outraged.  
  
"Lucy said you tried to murder her. You are expelled permanently."  
  
Abby tried to get a word out but she couldn't. The words were like daggers, struck at her body all at once. They had hurt her very pride very much.  
  
"You surely are kidding. Me? Hurt Lucy? Come on! You're not kidding. I'll get you, Lucy and you too, Carter and last of all, Romano, I will hurt you," she proclaimed, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists in anger.  
  
"I think we need to contact psych on this, don't you?" suggested Lucy.  
  
"Yeah. Take her away, security!"  
  
Abby scowled in disgust as security grasped her arms and tossed her out. She tried to wriggle out, in which she eventually did do, and she succeeded in punching Lucy. That was all the evidence Romano needed. She wouldn't be coming back, ever.  
  
"Well, I'm glad that's over," sighed Carter, in relief.  
  
Lucy laid her head against his shoulder and they sat there, a happy couple, who had just experienced the trauma of an angry ex-girlfriend.  
  
"Miss Knight!" called a security officer. "We searched her and she had your locket."  
  
"HER locket?! That's my locket!" screeched Abby.  
  
Abby's determined, fierce cries rang out through the hospital walls and all the hospital staff glanced at each other before glancing at Kerry. Lucy and Carter were given a week for a leave of absence, considering all that they had went through. Kerry even supplied them with a get well basket. One of many coming from the rest of the hospital staff. Lucy and Carter eventually got married and they lived happily ever after. Well, as happy as a doctor family can be. 


End file.
